Chapter 117: The Dragon Blood Elixir

“So that’s how it is...”

Releasing the lifeless, blood-foam-spitting Long Tengzi, Qi Xiu’s face showed a thoughtful expression.

“The origins of the Dominating Sacred Heart are mysterious, and this Long Tengzi also obtained this item from his sworn father, the Dragon King of the Waterside Jiaolong. This Dragon King is a great demon at the Dao Body realm, ruling over the waterside domain, spanning more than three thousand miles, commanding nearly thirty thousand aquatic demon minions.

From Long Tengzi’s memories, all thirty-six sworn sons under the Dragon King of the Waterside Jiaolong have already come ashore, scattered into nearby prefectures and counties, spreading the Dominating Sacred Heart.

It seems another major event is about to unfold.”

Glancing at Long Tengzi, whose mind had been scrambled into a pulp by the soul-searching talisman, Qi Xiu flipped his hand and pulled out a spirit pill pouch. With a finger seal, a mighty suction force surged forth from the palm-sized dark green pouch, drawing in all the demons and evil cultivators in the room.

Raising his hand, he retracted the pouch and lightly shook it, revealing a satisfied expression.

“Hmm, that should be enough for another batch.”

Using the Body-Shattering Formless Sword Technique, Qi Xiu gouged a large hole in the skeletal corpse demon prison array. Then, transforming into a slender thread of water, he instantly vanished, leaving the deep mountain forest in the blink of an eye.

Beneath the vast blue clouds and verdant woods, the recently ascended First Realm Small Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Technique was incredibly fast. If Qi Xiu were willing to pour in his full true energy, channeling his entire true energy body, he could reach the terrifying speed of a hundred miles in a single thought!

However, with no massive army chasing him, Qi Xiu naturally refrained from pushing to such extremes.

In just a quarter of an hour, Qi Xiu crossed hundreds of miles and returned to outside Qingliu County, where a small mountain range called Luyang Mountain lay. This mountain range was quite secluded, facing southward, warm and bright.

At the summit of Luyang Mountain, Qi Xiu found a fairly spacious cave, furnished it with common necessities, and then moved out of Qingliu County.

Splash—

A spray of water scattered as Qi Xiu dispersed his escape light and appeared. Standing on a solitary oval rock at the mountain’s peak, he overlooked the distant Qingliu County.

At this moment, the county, which had endured multiple siege battles, was now undergoing bold expansion.

Countless laborers carried mud and stones, like ants swarming around the original Qingliu County, intent on enlarging the city by a full circle, forming an inner and outer city.

“This Li Jiufang is truly a bold and capable official,” Qi Xiu murmured, sitting cross-legged on the rock, silently watching the bustling activity in Qingliu County.

Less than two months after the defeat of the Golden Flower Matron Sect, faced with a continuous influx of refugees and displaced people from all directions, Qingliu County’s carrying capacity had long been exceeded.

Tens of thousands of people were stranded outside the city, enveloping Qingliu County so that those outside could not enter, and those inside could not leave.

As refugees began to die, the unattended corpses bred and spread plague. If left unchecked, not only would those outside perish, but the city’s residents could also be afflicted.

While other prefectures and counties were focusing on consolidating and defending, Li Jiufang made an extremely bold decision.

He planned to expand and build an outer city on the foundation of Qingliu County to accommodate the refugees.

This idea was audacious indeed.

But Li Jiufang not only dared to imagine it, he also dared to act.

Under his strong leadership, tens of thousands of refugees were persuaded to spontaneously excavate stone and carry earth, reclaiming and leveling land, and grandly commencing the construction of the new city.

Even some residents within the city voluntarily joined the effort.

The construction of the outer city was in full swing, with daily progress.

“At this rate and trend, Qingliu County will eventually surpass the prefecture city of Huangtan,” Qi Xiu chuckled softly, withdrawing his gaze to take out the spirit pill pouch and begin pill refining.

In the past few months, relying on his unparalleled escape technique and the deadly poison “Bitter Soot Breeze,” he had committed dozens of acts in the vicinity, capturing over two thousand demons and evil cultivators to refine spirit pills and enhance his cultivation.

Moreover, since the potency of Bitter Soot Breeze far exceeded that of Fish-Fragrant Tendon-Softening Powder, even Dao-approaching demons and evil cultivators could not resist it.

He had even deliberately ambushed some pursuing demons, gradually reducing their numbers near Qingliu County, indirectly aiding Li Jiufang.

Otherwise, with so many people digging stones and carrying earth in the mountains, they would have long since been devoured by demons.

Silently operating the spirit pill pouch, he refined all the demons and evil cultivators inside into spirit pills. Perhaps because this batch was larger and of better quality, the refining process was longer than usual.

After more than two hours, the tightly sealed pouch finally opened a slit, releasing a rich and mellow exotic fragrance.

The surrounding air was tinged with a faint precious glow.

Opening the pouch mouth, forty-nine round spirit pills lay inside. The one in the center faintly emitted a shard of golden luster, with a dragon pattern subtly swirling on its surface.

“Dragon Blood Spirit Pill?”

Qi Xiu’s eyes flickered as he took out this Dragon Blood Spirit Pill from the pouch.

Unexpectedly, the pill suddenly broke free from Qi Xiu’s fingers, transforming into a streak of golden light and attempting to escape.

“Huh? A cooked duck still wants to fly?”

Laughing lightly, Qi Xiu transformed into a water mist, instantly leaping back and opening his palm.

The fleeing Dragon Blood Spirit Pill obediently returned to his grasp.

“This pill contains dragon blood. If an ordinary martial artist or cultivator consumes it, they can immediately break through the ancient Heavenly Gauntlet constraint, endure the Heavenly Gauntlet tribulation, and achieve the Dao-approaching cultivation stage.”

Carefully examining the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill in his hand, Qi Xiu marveled inwardly.

This dragon blood was truly extraordinary.

If such a pill were to fall into the secular martial world, it would surely ignite a bloody storm.

Such a calamity-inducing item was better handled by Qi Xiu early on.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill, spiritual power pouring out from the pill. Alongside it surged an extremely domineering, supremely noble bloodline force.

However, although pure and noble, this bloodline force was pitifully scant, a hundred times thinner than a hair.

The moment this strand of dragon blood appeared, the black flood dragon within Qi Xiu’s sea of consciousness suddenly let out an excited long cry, swirling and hovering ceaselessly, seemingly craving that dragon blood intensely.

“You little rascal, still want to taste some dragon blood?”

Joking with the excited flood dragon, Qi Xiu’s eyes suddenly paused as a mysterious spiritual light flashed through his mind.

This dragon blood was indeed greatly beneficial to the flood dragon.

If the quantity were sufficient, it might allow this divine anomaly of his to undergo a profound transformation!

Always trusting his intuition, Qi Xiu no longer hesitated and directly fed the strand of dragon blood to the flood dragon.

Roar—

Upon swallowing the dragon blood, the flood dragon’s body was enveloped in a dense black aura, and two long whiskers suddenly sprouted at its lips.

Sensing the change, the flood dragon let out a joyful roar, its previously hoarse and grating cry now tinged with a lofty and melodious dragon’s roar.

Noticing the two new whiskers at the flood dragon’s lips, Qi Xiu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It seemed he needed to seize more dragon blood demons in the future.

Swallowing the spirit pills one by one, Qi Xiu converted their power into his own true energy. The secret essence of the Mixed Primal Dragon-Tiger Scripture was like a confluence of rivers, transforming yin and yang forces into a dragon-tiger millstone, enabling rapid absorption of spiritual power.

Immersed in cultivation, unaware of the passing sun and moon, three days flew by in an instant.

Qi Xiu slowly opened his eyes; a glimmer of strange radiance flashed deep within.

[Calligraphy (Fourth Realm): 7.2%]

[Mixed Primal Dragon-Tiger Scripture Secret Essence (First Realm): 97.8%]

[Small Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Technique (First Realm): 54.3%]

[Body-Shattering Formless Sword Technique (First Realm): 34.8%]

[Pill Refining (Third Realm): 22.2%]

[Painting (Second Realm): 78.2%]

[Culinary Arts: 98.9%]

...

“One more step, and the Mixed Primal Dragon-Tiger Scripture Secret Essence can breakthrough to the Second Realm.

Perhaps the divine power of the Mixed Primal Pearl can complete it.”

Suppressing the turbulent aura within, Qi Xiu’s gaze darkened as he entered the Heart Palace.

The Mixed Primal Pearl, shining with iridescent light, grew denser, exuding an imposing aura presiding over the center.

Beneath it lay a gray-white void, a misty lake surface suspended in emptiness.

This misty lake surface was formed by the Small Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Technique.

After breaking through to the First Realm, Qi Xiu had reverse-enlightened new content.

It was as if the escape technique in his hand was only a part of the whole.

After reaching the First Realm, more aspects had been comprehended.

The expanded content allowed escape light to borrow water to teleport in places where water existed.

However, the water used for escape must first be integrated into the escape light.

It resembled fixed-point teleportation.

Currently, the teleportation distance was limited to a radius of fifty miles, making practical operation somewhat cumbersome.

When the technique reached a profound level, the teleportation distance would be great enough to become an excellent life-saving method.

Surrounding the misty lake surface were twelve sword-shaped qi forces—shadowless, formless, transparent, and barely perceptible.

After breaking through to the First Realm, the Body-Shattering Formless Sword Qi had not yielded new insights like the Small Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Light.

Only the number of sword qi increased from six to twelve.

Its body-shattering power also rose from one layer of true energy to breaking through two layers consecutively!

“I still need to capture more demons and evil cultivators…”

Gazing at the Mixed Primal Dragon-Tiger Scripture Secret Essence, just one step from completion, Qi Xiu rose and transformed once again into a streak of escape light, dashing off into the distance.

...

At the same time.

The waterside, with unfathomable depth and murky silt.

Light filtered through ripples, revealing a hazy scene.

Various strange and beautiful corals, seaweeds, and aquatic creatures.

The colorful, resplendent coral reefs faintly emitted a mesmerizing glow in the turbid waters.

At the center of this coral cluster stood a majestic Dragon Palace.

Through the glassy, crystal-clear yet slightly blurred underwater walls, the interior of the Dragon Palace appeared magnificent and grand.

A huge, golden, resplendent gate stood wide open, exuding an alluring yet fearsome aura.

Suddenly.

In this legendary, ancient place, a terrifying aura abruptly revived.

A towering presence, coiled deep within the Dragon Palace, slowly opened its fragment-golden eyes and spoke with a voice like rolling thunder.

The entire waterside domain trembled and boiled with energy.

“Who dares attack my son?”

...

(End of chapter)